


The Longest Summer

by owlpockets



Series: Femslash Big Bang 2015 [4]
Category: Rat Queens
Genre: F/F, Recreational Drug Use, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 16:09:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5462801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlpockets/pseuds/owlpockets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Violet might be in love with her best friend.  The problem was how to let her know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Longest Summer

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set pre-series.
> 
> Many thanks to [ImaginAries](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginAries) for the excellent beta work. :)

Every night with the Rat Queens was essentially girls’ night out, but once in awhile they tried for legitimacy anyway by planning their partying in advance. That particular night in late spring, local taverns were starting to put tables outside, torches and fireflies flickering in the twilight, a gentle, warm breeze ruffling patrons’ hair as they conversed on the patio. The atmosphere was pretty fucking romantic, which was saying a lot for the Queens’ favorite dive. 

“My legs are as pasty as your arse, Hannah,” Betty commented, unhappily lifting the hem of her ankle-length skirt to view the damage. “That was a long winter.”

“Damn straight, that was the longest fucking winter yet,” Hannah nodded sagely at Betty’s legs while she sipped from her extra large tankard. Small mercy that it was too early yet for the chugging phase of the evening.

Violet scratched her chin, stubble threatening to overtake all her hard work already. For the first time since leaving home she had let her beard grow out, a convenient face warmer that the other girls envied all winter. Shaving it again had been a bitch and a half, but she felt physically and mentally lighter.

Dee still looked slightly chilled in her light sweater, and Violet didn’t understand _how_. “Here’s hoping it leads to the longest _summer_ yet.” Dee raised her cup to her companions and took a drink.

“Hear, hear,” Violet chorused with Betty and Hannah and a few people from other nearby tables.

They drank and chatted companionably for a while, steadily intoxicating themselves with cheap liquor and high spirits. Eventually a band started playing some quick-paced, cheery dance tunes inside, but close to the window for the outdoor guests to hear.

“Oooh, I love this one!” Betty said, her cheeks pink with drink and laughter. “Somebody dance with me!”

Betty got up and started swaying along to the tune, looking askance at each of her companions in turn. Dee shook her head quickly and Hannah shrugged, clearly already heading towards drunk, which left Violet to take up the offer, not that she minded. Violet was not a great dancer—the music moved her, but she didn’t move with the music—though Betty never minded or laughed at her unskilled movements. Grabbing both Violet’s hands, Betty tugged her around, spinning both of them in an uneven circle until Violet swept her up and kept going. 

Other people had started to join in by that point, and Violet set Betty down on their table before sitting down herself, slightly dizzy from the combination of alcohol and rapid movement. 

“Are you done already? The song is still going.” Betty pouted, continuing a little jig on top of the table.

“Just taking a quick break. It’s too early to puke yet,” Violet said with a grin. Betty laughed and leaned into give her a quick kiss on the top of the head. “Go tell them to play something a little slower and I’m all in.”

Betty hopped off the table and half-skipped, half-trotted toward where the band was playing. The fiddle player leaned over sideways so she could talk in his ear without missing a beat. Betty appeared to be listing songs, ticking off six of her fingers.

“Pretty sure Betty is dictating the whole set,” Dee commented in amusement. “You’re in for a long haul, I think.”

“Time for round…whatever!” Hannah suddenly rose from her seat and slammed her tankard down on the table. “Bar wench! More beer!” she hollered, causing several people to wince in sympathy for Violet and Dee. “Wench, come on!”

Betty reappeared with the round of drinks, rescuing their actual waitress from certain destruction at the hands of Tipsy Hannah. Violet knocked back half her glass in one gulp, and stood to join in the next song with Betty. It was going to be a good night.

___

“You know what we haven’t done in ages?” Betty asked, a slightly dreamy glaze passing over her eyes.

“Hm?” Dee didn’t look up from her book.

“Clean the bathroom?” Hannah offered.

Violet snorted. That was all too true. She thought by this point there should be actual psychotropic fungus growing in there, but it was still just ordinary mildew. Inconvenient.

“Yes, but…not that.” Betty leaned forward and leaned on her elbows. “Take a trip to the beach!”

Dee gave a tiny gasp and hurried from the room. Hannah clapped her hands together once and sat up from her slouch on the sofa. “Bettybug, that’s the best idea I’ve heard all week.”

Violet couldn’t disagree. It was hot as balls in Palisade. "I'm in."

Dee reappeared wearing a sunhat and holding a large bag. "I was born ready for this day," she said, brandishing her bathing suit. Nobody loved the beach more than Dee, and she had the pre-packed beach bag to prove it.

"Alright! I'll pack the food and the drugs!" Betty moved toward the kitchen, only to be stopped by Hannah blocking her path.

" _I'll_ pack the food, you pack the drugs. And at least a bikini bottom this time." Hannah crossed her arms and stared until Betty acquiesced. Violet disagreed with the bikini bottom requirement, but she kept it to herself. 

The walk to the beach was long, but shaded by dense trees lining the path down to the small lake Palisade residents preferred for swimming. There were closer ponds and streams, but most of those were either enchanted or stagnant.

Aside from a few Smidgens sunbathing, the beach was blissfully empty. Violet preferred her beach days peaceful. Hannah was already floating on the lake on an inflated tube of her own creation, probably made out of some material they wouldn’t care to know about. Troll skin. Cow intestines. Something worse. Violet decided to think about something else. Like getting their umbrella set up before she ended up with more freckles. It was faded and rainbow and horrible, but it was the only one they could find to buy on the way that was big enough to share.

Dee spread out a blanket on the sand, setting down a bag with bottles of wine and snacks. Betty dropped down on one corner of the blanket, popping a bottle and taking a sip before taking off her top and laying back. “Now this is what I’m talking about,” Betty sighed happily.

“Mm, I have to agree, this was a good idea,” Dee answered. She chose a spot under the shade of the umbrella, but stuck her legs out into the sun. “I need to even out these weird spring tan lines.”

“Hannah’s going to fry out there in that bikini. Why didn’t she put a little umbrella on that…thing?” Violet scooted into the shade, grabbing the bottle Betty opened. “Dibs on _not_ having to help her rub medicine on her pasty ass tomorrow.”

“Seconded!” Betty jumped in quickly.

“Aww…” Dee wrinkled her nose and leaned back on her elbows. “It’s always me. Don’t do I enough for you cunts already?”

Betty giggled and rolled onto her stomach. “Invent a healing spell for sunburn and you’d be set.”

Violet smiled around the mouth of the wine bottle. The three of them fell comfortably silent, lulled by the warmth of the sun and the slight ripple of the water. Dee turned her back to Violet and gave a tremendous yawn. Yeah, that was the right idea.

Betty had her eyes closed, but a twitching smile on her face told Violet she was awake. “Who wants to oil up my back~?”

“Not it!” Dee whipped an arm out and whacked Violet in the leg before she could even move the wine bottle away to answer.

Betty’s smile turned slightly lewd as she glanced to the side through half-lidded eyes and Violet heaved a dramatic sigh. “Yeah, yeah, I guess I deserve that.”

Privately, Violet didn’t mind. The tanning oil smelled nice and it only took a few swipes with her broad hand to cover Betty’s small shoulders. She grabbed the ornate brown glass bottle out of Betty’s satchel, snatching one of the blunts out of the front pocket as well after a moment’s hesitation. She drizzled a little of the oil onto Betty’s back and started gently kneading her fingers into the supple muscles of her shoulders.

“Mm, you are so good at that. Have you ever thought about opening one of those erotic massage parlors? You could make soooo much money.” Betty’s head was resting on her arms, hair flipped over to one side to expose her neck.

“Are you trying to say I have man hands?” Violet teased.

“Well, they are huge, but I’m into it,” Betty said, closing her eyes again in contentment.

“You are so weird,” Violet replied fondly. She swiped her hand one last time down Betty’s spine, wiping the excess oil off her hands with the edge of the blanket before rummaging for a match. 

The sound of the spark caused Betty to lift her head and squint at Violet. “Did you just steal that out of my bag?”

“Payment for services rendered,” Violet answered, puffing a small ring of smoke over Betty’s head. “But I might share.”

The rest of the day was spent drinking wine, playing chicken in the water, and trying to upend Hannah’s float. They went home sun-tired and content after a glorious sunset the likes of which Violet couldn’t remember having seen before. Halfway home, she felt Betty’s small hand slip into her own, and looked down to see her friend drowsily lean her head against her arm. The ends of Betty’s dreads tickled her elbow, moving rhythmically with their steps. 

Violet smiled down at Betty, poking a finger against the tip of her nose. “Ready for bed?”

“Oh yes, I think I might sleep for the rest of the week. Maybe longer,” Betty answered with a dreamy look in her eyes. “You should join me, we’ll build a pillow fort.”

Violet laughed and turned her face to hide how tempted she was by the offer. Knowing Betty, she was probably being entirely serious, but Violet wasn’t sure she could keep her hands to herself. “Next time. I have a date with my right hand tonight.”

“Mm, a perfect end to a perfect day,” Betty agreed. “I hope Hannah makes pancakes in the morning.”

Sadly, Violet was dragged out of bed the next morning not by the smell of pancakes and fried meats, but by a very excited Betty. “Oh my gods, you have to come right now. Dee tried inventing a healing spell for sunburn and—” She was interrupted by a huge crash and a shriek.

“Wha?” Violet blinked and rubbed at her blurry eyes while Betty tugged at her other hand.

“Hurry!” Betty was grinning like a maniac.

Violet jumped up, nearly getting tangled in the sweaty sheets she had kicked down to the bottom of her bed in the night. She ran behind Betty, completely unprepared for what she saw in the living room. The first thing in her line of sight was the remains of their large hookah shattered over the floor; that was probably the crash. Dee’s back was to them, and she had both hands fisted in her hair. Hannah, sunburnt as red as Violet’s hair and clearly stunned speechless, was waving ten thin purple tentacles where her fingers should be.

“N’rygoth’s ballsack,” Violet blurted out. Betty was cackling silently into her palm next to her.  
___

Betty said different colors of mushrooms produced different hallucinations. Violet was inclined to think she was making that up, and rather Betty was describing her own powers of suggestion. Either way, it was a Tuesday afternoon and they were sitting on opposite sides of the coffee table carefully sorting Betty's latest haul of magic mushrooms by hue and shade. 

"Do we have a pile for red yet?" Violet held up a pale and grayish, curly monstrosity that appeared to be dripping some unfortunately blood-like substance from its broken stem. She dropped it when it threatened to drip on her hand. "Eugh...."

"Oh, actually, don't touch that one. The goo will give you horrible pus-filled sores if you get on your skin, and don't even ask what it does if you swallow it." Betty grabbed a scrap of cloth and carefully wrapped the leaking horror. She gave a small sigh. "The stem must have broken in the bag. I got it for Hannah. They're super rare around here."

"Is it still usable broken?" Violet eyed the bundle set off to the side of the table, having a hard time imagining why anyone would want or need such a thing. Hannah's spells would, most likely, always be a mystery to her.

Betty was examining three nearly identical purple mushrooms with a small magnifying lens. She finished, gave a satisfied nod, and put them in the appropriate pile. "Hopefully. She didn't give me any special instructions about not breaking it, other than the thing about boils."

"Gross, it's leaking on the table." Violet flicked it away from their carefully sorted stash and onto the floor with a muffled wet splat. "...Hannah can deal with that later. It's her turn to mop anyway."

Betty wrinkled her nose and scooted away from where it landed. "I think we've got them all. Now, are you ready to have the best trip you've ever had in your life?" 

Betty placed a row of three mushrooms in front of Violet, who couldn't help but notice she had chosen an array of secondary colors. There was a monochrome green set in different shades in Betty's pile. "I guess?"

"Don't worry, Vi, you know I'm a master at this. I gave you a tailor-made Violet Special, guaranteed to produce mind-blowing creativity, as requested." Betty had moved into the kitchen and was pouring some white wine into two glasses, which seemed like a potentially terrible idea for a chaser. She returned with the glasses and the bottle under her arm, arranging them all on the table before settling, tossing mushroom number one into her mouth, and mumbling around a full mouth, "Down the hatch!"

Violet followed suit, with minimal chewing and rather a lot of wine, because they didn't exactly taste gourmet to her. Fungi were not really her favorite consumable in general. If it cured her art block she would be completely sold on them, however. The lack of blood and guts lately was severely limiting her ability to put anything on paper or canvas that was not butt-ugly (not in the meaningful artistic way, but in the actually bad art way) and it was frustrating enough to try any and all of Betty's drug schemes. Violet's creative and violent sides thrived and fed off each other, but the latter was usually not a problem for the Rat Queens. All of Palisade and surrounding had collectively decided to become a boring shit hole for the past few weeks.

"So...what now?" Violet leaned back against the sofa, sipping her wine and watching Betty play with different combinations of colors. She was pretty cute when she was acting thoughtful. Actually, Betty was always pretty cute, but Violet still hadn't worked up the nerve to tell her that in a serious way.

"We could play cards for while, I guess." Betty dug around the little shelf under the coffee table where they kept a multitude of odds and ends that didn't fit elsewhere in the room. The first thing she pulled out was a plate with a small forest growing on it, which she immediately shoved back. The second try turned up a box of cards. "I'm thinking maybe it's finally time for a deep cleaning session. Found them!"

"I'm inclined to agree. A sober cleaning session, because I'm positive that plate has been down there since last time we got high and tried to clean the house."

"Aw, you're no fun sometimes," Betty teased, popping an extra mushroom in her mouth, which appeared to keep opening wider and wider like she could swallow the whole world. That was definitely not natural.

The next thing Violet remembered was waking up in a fountain, water spraying on her back where she was bent over the edge looking at a pile of multi-colored puke on the ground. There was more dangling from her hair. Fucknuggets. When her vision stopped swimming she could see Betty’s little shoes standing near the puke and felt her hand on her head.

“Vi? Vi? Are you alive?” Betty didn’t sound so good herself, a slight rasp in her voice.

“No,” Violet croaked. “Just leave me to rot here.” But she shifted anyway, testing her weight against the arm that wasn’t asleep. It was a struggle, but she sat up. “How many mushrooms did we take?”

“Uhm…” Betty was leaning against the fountain. Her nose and forehead wrinkled as if she didn’t like the answer. “I lost count after round two.”

Violet squinted in the glaring mid-morning light. There were a few small children staring at them uncertainly from across the road, and she pulled a nasty face until they ran off. “Did I paint anything?”

“Weeeell…” Betty looked off to the side and tugged on one of her dreads.

Violet glared at her. “Betty.”

“I may have posed nude for you?” There was the barest hint of a blush touching her tanned cheeks. “I don’t think the picture turned out very…um…. I think you drew my head as a bunch of mushrooms. And my pubes. It’s weirdly sexy. Surreal, but sexy.”

Violet grew suspicious almost instantly. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“It’s on the front door of the house?” Betty gave a small grin and shrugged.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Ugh…” Violet groaned as she climbed out of the fountain holding up her soaked pants, Betty’s hand steadying her elbow. Once she stopped swaying, Violet felt it slide down until their fingers were laced together, Betty swinging them back and forth gently. 

“Come on, let’s go paint over it before the roomies have a shit fit. I’ll buy you some brunch on the way to make up for the bad trip, yeah?”

Violet cracked a half smile, feeling content despite the raging hangover. “I don’t know, maybe we should leave it up for a while, let all the neighbors get an eyeful first.”

Betty giggled, a gentle, girlish sound that sent butterflies free in Violet's stomach. Or maybe she had to vomit again, she wasn't entirely sure. Betty led her in a companionable silence to the first waffle cart they could find in the town square, where they both winced at the jangling bells the owner was wearing along with his bright and hateful morning-person smile. In spite of the jelly replacing her arms, Violet lifted Betty onto her shoulders so she could read the menu easily. Any other day, they would not have patronized a food cart that clearly didn't cater to shorter customers, but they were both too much in need of something bready to calm their stomachs to do more than leave a bad tip. 

Buttered waffles in hand, they shuffled home. Violet instantly started snickering at the door painting and Dee's exasperated face watching them out the window.

"Too late," Betty pointed at their friend before devolving into infections laughter.

When Violet turned around and saw Hannah coming up the path on her own walk of shame, carrying her rumpled jacket and trying to smooth her hair, even Dee had started to crack a smile. "How's Sawyer's dick today?" Violet wheezed, taking her cue from the goading grin on Betty's face. 

Hannah flipped them off with an unintelligible grumble that sounded an awful lot like "ask your mother" before stomping into the house. A door slammed down the hall, probably to the bathroom, disappointingly. Violet had really been looking forward to a nice warm bath.

"Busy night?" Dee asked from the doorway where she was appraising the painting with an amused tilt to her eyebrows.

"You have no idea," Violet answered. "And neither do I, come to think of it."  
___ 

Midnight summer picnics had been Violet’s idea, a chance for a refreshing night out that didn’t end in regret and a pounding headache. Hannah rarely came along, Dee sometimes, but Betty was a constant companion. She loved stargazing almost as much as Violet, but her motivations were purely visual rather than artistic. Violet was sort of counting on this particular night being just the two of them.

Violet packed up her sketchbook and a basket with Hannah’s special brownies, fresh strawberries, and lemonade. The weather was miraculously cool and perfect after a few cloudy, muggy nights, which left Violet feeling lighter and brighter. She pulled her hair back away from her face with a bandana and waited for Betty to finish getting ready.

Betty, of course, was taking her sweet time changing, which was nothing unusual, but made Violet impatient with how eager she was to move on with their evening plans. She rapped on Betty’s door with her knuckles. “Hurry the fuck up or I’m going to eat all the fucking brown—”

“Okay, I’m ready!” Betty emerged looking fresh as a daisy in a bold floral-print dress, some oversized gold bangles on her slender wrists. “What do you think? I bought it last weekend at the market. At first I thought the print might be too big for me, but now I think it works.”

Teasing words died on Violet’s lips. “You look awesome,” she said instead, sincerely. 

Betty’s face visibly brightened, and it nearly made Violet start blushing. Violet really hated blushing—she thought she looked like a ripe tomato. Betty hooked her small hand through Violet’s arm looked at her expectantly. “Great, let’s get going.”

The walk to their favorite star gazing spot lead them just to the edge of town, a clearing at the top of a small hill that provided an ideal view. There were rarely other people and, when there were, everyone tended to keep to themselves as to avoid disturbing the nighttime tranquility. Violet and Betty set up their blanket and snacks in the prime spot at the very top; they were completely alone, luckily.

Betty poured two glasses of lemonade and dropped a single berry in each. “For fun,” she said. “We can pretend it’s champagne?”

“Lemonade taste nothing like champagne,” Violet laughed. “Champagne is gross anyway.”

“That’s true,” Betty agreed with a sage nod and squint of her eyes. “I think. When have we ever had champagne?”

“Hannah brought some cheap stuff home once and we all tasted it for winter solstice. I distinctly remember her spitting it out all over the rug.” Violet bit off the corner of a brownie and dug out her sketchbook and pencils. There wasn’t much light with the half moon, but it would have to do since they forgot candles.

“And then she threw the bottle out the window and yelled, ‘this tastes like troll piss!’” Betty giggled. She was halfway through her first brownie already, eyes sparkling with mirth in the low light. The effect was magic on Violet’s imagination and she started drawing, occasionally stealing glances at Betty while they ate.

The night settled over them like a blanket, lulling Violet into comfortable silence. In the back of her mind she toyed with the idea of telling Betty that she was thinking about her rather more than usual lately, but she didn’t want to spoil the atmosphere with serious talk either. Betty was lying down, head pillowed on her delicate elbow, eyes half closed in the calm. Her shoes were tossed to the side and the hem of her dress had hiked up above one knee. Violet wondered what she was thinking about.

“You know, some people are saying the moon is just a big rock floating around us. And also that the stars are other suns far out in space.” Violet started doodling what she thought the moon would look like up close, full of mountains and valleys. 

“That’s crazy!” Betty said around mouth full of brownies. “…I’m into it.”

“I know, right?” Violet smiled faintly, setting her pencil down and letting her eyes lazily track the constellations she could remember. “Would there be moss on the moon? I can’t decide.”

“Maybe that’s why it glows. Like that cave we found last summer.” Betty propped herself on one elbow and leaned over to look at the drawing, dropping several crumbs on it in the process.

“No chocolate crumbs.” Violet pulled away the book to shake it off, flashing some of the other pages, and Betty shifted until her head was resting on her thigh. 

She snatched the book out of Violet’s hands before she could react and flipped to a different page. “Aw, you drew me when we were at the beach the other day. Sneaky Vi, I didn’t even notice.”

“You got super high and fell asleep.” Violet could feel the oncoming tomato blush on her skin and was glad for the darkness.

“Well, that’s no excuse for not showing me when I woke up,” Betty teased. She paused, looking up at Violet with a thoughtful expression. “You’ve been drawing me more than the other girls lately.”

“I can’t resist your weird stoner charm, I guess,” Violet replied before she could stop herself. That was the worst line she could have possibly come up with. “Or, well…” There was no way to fix it. Smooth, real smooth.

“Don’t I know it,” Betty replied. She threaded some of Violet’s hair in between her fingers soothingly, then gave a firm tug until their lips clashed together.

The position was incredibly uncomfortable. Violet managed to bite down painfully on her own lips at first, but they figured it out with blindly searching tongues. It wasn’t an especially good kiss, but that wasn’t important with the realization that Betty was interested in her too.

“Did you know this was a date?” Violet asked quietly when they finally broke apart. Betty was looking up at her with a lazy smile barely visible in the thin moonlight. That was definitely a good sign.

“Of course I did. The whole time,” Betty laughed and kissed her again, briefly. “I’m not an idiot. But apparently you are, and also not subtle _at all_.”

“Stealth has never been my strong point. Blundering around is just part of being a dwarven warrior.”

“You know what else is part of being a dwarven warrior?” Betty suddenly had a sly glint in her eyes. “Big ol’ man hands. I wouldn’t say no to another topless massage when we get home.”

Violet was slightly surprised by the solicitation and what she was pretty sure it meant. “Are you entirely sure I’m the unsubtle one in this relationship?”

“Nope.” Betty grinned and hopped up to start packing their picnic things. “Are you coming, or what? Don’t keep a girl waiting too long.”

“Right, of course not,” Violet answered, feeling a coil of apprehension creeping up her throat. This is what she wanted…right?

__

In retrospect it probably started with their spring girls’ night out. If Violet had to pick the exact moment this thing with Betty flickered into life, that first dance of the night would be it. She could blame it on spring fever, but that seemed cheap now when she was tongue deep in her best friend's cunt, having serious doubts, wondering if she could ever make this more than a fling. Betty wasn't really into summer flings, but Violet was a little bit terrified. Scared of fucking everything up just when her life had gotten so good. Scared of...well, scared of being too happy. She couldn’t shake the mildly panicked feeling that the universe was about to come crashing down around her ears. The last time Violet felt that way was the day she left home.

The flirting and the dates were fun, easy, and felt entirely natural. Falling into bed together should have been fun and easy like the rest, or so she assumed. The sex felt a lot more serious in ways that Violet didn’t expect and wasn’t ready to acknowledge, lending a kind of inevitable permanence to their quickly evolving relationship.

"Bettybug..." Violet paused, unsure of how to continue. She wiped some of the sweat off her face and her boobs awkwardly with the corner of a pillowcase. "I don't know if I can do this."

Betty sat up, her lazy smile drooping slightly as she kicked the overheated sheets away. "Do what?"

"This," Violet answered with a vague gesture between them. "Us. I really kind of suck at relationships, as you probably already figured out. I just…” Violet sighed and pushed the hair out of her face before trying again. “This might be moving a little fast for me and I don’t want to fuck up."

Betty didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and her normally animated face was strangely unreadable. When she did reply, her tone was thoughtful rather than the sadness Violet was expecting and dreading. “I don’t want to lose you as a friend, Vi. That’s what’s most important to me.”

While it wasn’t exactly the response Violet was expecting, it was a safe and honest one. “Yeah, me too.”

“I don’t have any expectations. Let’s just have fun and see what happens, no pressure.” Betty hesitated a little. “Okay?”

Violet smiled slightly, relieved. “Okay.”

Betty lay back down and leaned her head against Violet’s shoulder. “You know you can tell me anything, right? If you want. No judging.”

“I know. That’s what I love about you,” Violet answered fondly. She kissed Betty’s hair and reached over to squeeze her shoulder. “Sorry I freaked out on you for a minute there. I’ll get my shit together someday.”

“As long as you’ll still be my friend I don’t care if you’re still working it out when you’re too decrepit to swing a sword.” Betty held up her hand with the pinky sticking out. “Pinky promise?”

Violet could tell how worried Betty still was, though she was trying hard to hide it. She knew, of course, that she would rather die than break Betty’s heart in any way. Raising her own hand, she linked their fingers together tightly, and kissed the back of Betty’s hand. “Promise.”


End file.
